I decided to venture into the world of Japanese kitchen knives

[tsellati]

Recently I have done a fair bit of research and spent time watching YouTube videos on various aspects of Japanese kitchen knives. I decided to take the plunge. I am starting off slow and on the lower end of the price scale.

What I have arriving today is a Tuo 5.5" Santuko knife:

Tomorrow my Boumbi Hinoki cutting board and and Noble black ceramic honing rod should arrive:

Hopefully I have made some reasonable choices as I venture into the world of higher end kitchen knives.

Thoughts and advice are much appreciated.

Tim

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Check this out:

ChefKnivesToGo.com: Online Japanese Kitchen Knives with Free Shipping

Chef Knives To Go offers unmatched selection of kitchen knives! We are committed to bringing you unique knives and sharpening stones from a wide range of makers from around the world. Stay Sharp! Mark Richmond

www.chefknivestogo.com

 

[tsellati]

Check this out:

ChefKnivesToGo.com: Online Japanese Kitchen Knives with Free Shipping

Chef Knives To Go offers unmatched selection of kitchen knives! We are committed to bringing you unique knives and sharpening stones from a wide range of makers from around the world. Stay Sharp! Mark Richmond

www.chefknivestogo.com

Wow, this is an amazing website. Lots to look at and drool over!

Tim

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Wow, this is an amazing website. Lots to look at and drool over!

Tim

I know. This is what I own:

Takayuki VG-10 Hammered Damascus Santoku 180mm

Sakai Takayuki is a name that is synonymous with blades of all kinds, and more recently with kitchen knives. They have been making these for over 600 years starting in Sakai during the 16th century. The first blades they produced were made to trim and cut tobacco. The company is now owned by...

www.chefknivestogo.com

 

[Sinnbad11]

I have 4 Japanese kitchen knives all are made of blue aogami #2 by yusaku on cktg.

Each is gorgeous and effective in its own right, some better for specific tasks than others, but together they are a very complete set capable of nearly every task in the kitchen.

I have a kiri cleaver, a nakiiri, a bunka, and a petty knife. They are great.

Congrats on getting started!

 

[JoWolf]

Recently I have done a fair bit of research and spent time watching YouTube videos on various aspects of Japanese kitchen knives. I decided to take the plunge. I am starting off slow and on the lower end of the price scale.

What I have arriving today is a Tuo 5.5" Santuko knife:

View attachment 1309741

Tomorrow my Boumbi Hinoki cutting board and and Noble black ceramic honing rod should arrive:

View attachment 1309747
View attachment 1309748

Hopefully I have made some reasonable choices as I venture into the world of higher end kitchen knives.

Thoughts and advice are much appreciated.

Tim

I only own one carbon steel a Moritaka. I usually use a bench strop three out of five times after use. I found this to help maintain a nice edge. I would not use my steel on this knife. When the edge is not held. I go to a 3k and 8k stone finish. I keep a little mineral oil soaked rag in a baggie to lightly coat the blade after use. Nice board.

 

[higeoji]

Tuo is not a Japanese maker (it's a Chinese maker according to their web site), while the knife OP purchased is made of a Japanese steel. If you'd like to try Japan-made knives, I'd recommend well known Japanese makers like Tojiro, Misono or Mac.
I'd stay away from horning rod for Japanese knives. It still works, but it's not ideal for those made of harder steels.

 

[tsellati]

I only own one carbon steel a Moritaka. I usually use a bench strop three out of five times after use. I found this to help maintain a nice edge. I would not use my steel on this knife. When the edge is not held. I go to a 3k and 8k stone finish. I keep a little mineral oil soaked rag in a baggie to lightly coat the blade after use. Nice board.

I know that eventually I will need to sharpen the knife, either by using a whetstone or sending it out. But, for now I am going to see how the black ceramic honing rod does. I also figure that this Tuo will be a relatively inexpensive way to hone my knife sharpening skills with a whetstone when it is needed.

That is an interesting point about the mineral oil. I have a food grade mineral oil I use on my wood cutting boards that I can use on my santoku as well.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Tim

 

[tsellati]

Tuo is not a Japanese maker (it's a Chinese maker according to their web site), while the knife OP purchased is made of a Japanese steel. If you'd like to try Japan-made knives, I'd recommend well known Japanese makers like Tojiro, Misono or Mac.
I'd stay away from horning rod for Japanese knives. It still works, but it's not ideal for those made of harder steels.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was aware that the Tuo santuko is Chinese made using Japanese AUS-10 steel. But the price point was more in line with my entry level and it has good reviews. Eventually I will upgrade to Japanese makers but when first learning how to sharpen a Japanese edged knife I would rather practice on a $30 example rather than a $70+ example.

Regarding the honing rod, if I understand what I have read (and it's not all hype) the black ceramic should have a Rockwell hardness rating above that of the AUS-10 steel of my santoku. So, hopefully it will allow me to keep the blade's edge is useable condition until I take the further plunge into working with stones.

Tim

 

[Climb14er]

Watanabe Nikiri and Utility knives, Hitachi Blue Steel, convex edges, unbelievably razor sharp yet they keep their edges, only use Shapton Japanese Water Stones, 1000, 5000, 8000, strop on leather. These are used when I need to cut a lot of vegetables for the most part. Will slice through a lamb roast with ease.

Slicing through is so easy and effortless. Mr. Watanabe is a master of steel, he customized these for me fifteen years ago, shipping then was fast direct from Japan. Not all Japanese knife makers are the same, read the reviews and choose wisely. These are lifetime plus works of art, and the steel used has been worked to near perfection. Enjoy your Japanese custom knives.

 

[Tirvine]

I got inexpensive Tojiro ITKs from CKTG, a nakiri and a 240 gyuto. With a little time on water stones they stay scary sharp.

 

[lasta]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was aware that the Tuo santuko is Chinese made using Japanese AUS-10 steel. But the price point was more in line with my entry level and it has good reviews. Eventually I will upgrade to Japanese makers but when first learning how to sharpen a Japanese edged knife I would rather practice on a $30 example rather than a $70+ example.

Regarding the honing rod, if I understand what I have read (and it's not all hype) the black ceramic should have a Rockwell hardness rating above that of the AUS-10 steel of my santoku. So, hopefully it will allow me to keep the blade's edge is useable condition until I take the further plunge into working with stones.

Tim

+1 on the honing rod suggestion. Stay away from ceramics, they damage the edge and do more harm than good. If you insist, then get a smooth glass rod.

a 1000 grit and 5000-6000 stone should be more than enough for kitchen knives. Don't need to be expensive.

 

[cotedupy]

I only just found this sub-forum... At last I can offer some proper input rather than just chatting about stones and asking dumb questions about razors!

A couple of thoughts:

There's nothing wrong with a ceramic rod per se. However... they do abrade metal, and tbh aren't as easy to use properly as a stone is. in fact they're very difficult, you need a lot of muscle memory and angle control on a ceramic rod. I personally wouldn't use one for smarter knives, as there's a lot of potential to screw things up on harder steels. Having said that, give it a go - if you can get that muscle memory down then you'd probably find it a useful thing for quick touch-ups in the future.

If I were you I'd get a stone around 1k to start and go from there. Soakers will probably seem easier than SnG (I only use soakers anyway, but it's a matter of preference really) - King Deluxe 1200 is a superb stone and not expensive. Cerax I like a lot too. Finishing grit is a matter of preference 1k is fine, higher if you want. Personally I don't really go higher than about 3k, but it depends how refined you want the edge. I wouldn't advise going above 8k though on double-bevel knives; it's not like a razor - sharper and smoother isn't necessarily better for a kitchen knife.

Definitely a good plan to start off with something at the cheaper end to see what you think, but remember if you're having trouble with sharpening at any point - it's masses easier on more expensive knives and steels. If you can sharpen inexpensive knives well then moving onto posher stuff will be a walk in the park

 

[tsellati]

I only just found this sub-forum... At last I can offer some proper input rather than just chatting about stones and asking dumb questions about razors!

A couple of thoughts:

There's nothing wrong with a ceramic rod per se. However... they do abrade metal, and tbh aren't as easy to use properly as a stone is. in fact they're very difficult, you need a lot of muscle memory and angle control on a ceramic rod. I personally wouldn't use one for smarter knives, as there's a lot of potential to screw things up on harder steels. Having said that, give it a go - if you can get that muscle memory down then you'd probably find it a useful thing for quick touch-ups in the future.

If I were you I'd get a stone around 1k to start and go from there. Soakers will probably seem easier than SnG (I only use soakers anyway, but it's a matter of preference really) - King Deluxe 1200 is a superb stone and not expensive. Cerax I like a lot too. Finishing grit is a matter of preference 1k is fine, higher if you want. Personally I don't really go higher than about 3k, but it depends how refined you want the edge. I wouldn't advise going above 8k though on double-bevel knives; it's not like a razor - sharper and smoother isn't necessarily better for a kitchen knife.

Definitely a good plan to start off with something at the cheaper end to see what you think, but remember if you're having trouble with sharpening at any point - it's masses easier on more expensive knives and steels. If you can sharpen inexpensive knives well then moving onto posher stuff will be a walk in the park

I really appreciate the helpful information. OK, I am going to follow your advice and that of "higeoji" and "lasta" and I cancelled the order for the black ceramic rod.

Unfortunately, now I don't have anything to hone my santoku on. I guess I will have to hold off on using it too much until I get something else in place. I guess I could go with a leather strop and some green compound and give than a try for honing.

I just am a little reluctant to lay out upwards of $100 or more for a leather strop + 1000 and 5000 grit Shapton stones or a 1200 grit or combination 1000/6000 grit King stone. Then I need a base to hold the stone and a flattening stone to 'shave' off any concavity that develops on the whetstones --- and you can see where I am going with all of this (out of control and into the deep end).

Tim

 

[shavefan]

I really appreciate the helpful information. OK, I am going to follow your advice and that of "higeoji" and "lasta" and I cancelled the order for the black ceramic rod.

Unfortunately, now I don't have anything to hone my santoku on. I guess I will have to hold off on using it too much until I get something else in place. I guess I could go with a leather strop and some green compound and give than a try for honing.

I just am a little reluctant to lay out upwards of $100 or more for a leather strop + 1000 and 5000 grit Shapton stones or a 1200 grit or combination 1000/6000 grit King stone. Then I need a base to hold the stone and a flattening stone to 'shave' off any concavity that develops on the whetstones --- and you can see where I am going with all of this (out of control and into the deep end).

Tim

Lol. Yup, it can turn into a rabbit hole. Personally I like cooking more than sharpening so I forego the fancy righthand/left hand, 70/30 bevels, ultra hard steel. I mean I've owned them in the past and they are works of art and excellent cutting utensils, to be appreciated indeed. I have water stones too. I went down into the rabbit hole years ago, but I found myself climbing back up.

I recommend you check out Daovua knives from CKTG. I've been highly impressed with mine given their price, especially the Daovua Leaf Spring Honesuki 150mm. It has become the knife I grab most often and it gets deadly sharp and is easy to maintain the edge with a few swipes of a steel. I find the size and blade shape 非常に useful.

Another recommendation for a Japanese style of knife is a Kiritsuke. They're becoming more available in the western styled 50/50 grinds.

Have fun!

 

[Sinnbad11]

Daovua also makes a pipeline steel version of the knife that uses a slightly harder steel I use to have a 180mm bunka from them. The knives really seem to have a personality, they aren't perfect but they are quite nice, hand made, and they are slicing machines. They are usually fairly thin steel and they sharpen nicely so slicing is their forte.

 

[tsellati]

Thanks "shavefan" and "Sinnbad11" for sharing your experience and suggestions. I just got an email saying my Amazon order for the black ceramic rod could not be canceled so I am moving forward with using it for honing purposes.

I think I also will look into a combination Japanese whetstone for sharpening that is on the lower end of the price scale.

Tim

 

[shavefan]

If you find yourself with more reactive carbon steel knives, I highly recommend getting a set of Japanese "rust eraser" pads.

 

[shavefan]

Daovua also makes a pipeline steel version of the knife that uses a slightly harder steel I use to have a 180mm bunka from them. The knives really seem to have a personality, they aren't perfect but they are quite nice, hand made, and they are slicing machines. They are usually fairly thin steel and they sharpen nicely so slicing is their forte.

They also introduced a "Classic V2" series with more traditional Japanese blade shapes. Word is, they are better quality than their Pipeline & Spring Steel knives. Oddly, no mention of steel type on the Classic.

 

[higeoji]

If you want to try a whetstone for less money, the good old King 1000/6000 is a good starting point. You don't need to by a flattening stone in that case, instead get some rough sandpapers (like #100). You can use a sandpaper and a flat surface to flatten your stone.

Shapton is really great, but it's obviously a rabbit hole that have you purchase every grid available. You'll also want to buy a good flattening stone like Atoma as well.